We are what we eat – we’ve all heard it before. And the truth is, what we eat can actually influence our health good or bad. For example, some foods you eat can actually increase your risk of heart disease or diabetes.

1. Watch for foods that high in fat – even smaller servings of foods that are high in fat will contains a lot of calories.

2. Look for key words on food packaging – key words like low fat or low in calories can actually be deceiving. Foods with three grams of fat or less can be sold as low fat. Three grams per serving is a lot of fat.

3. In packaged/processed foods watch for hidden fats – Prepackaged/processed foods can contain hidden fats so read the labels very carefully.

Good Fats

Not all fats are bad fats. Small amounts of good fats will help you fight disease and absorb vitamins and minerals, and it helps your body to eliminate bad cholesterol from your blood. Saturated fats, which are bad fats, are found in animal fats, and the body has a hard time to break them down. These fats increase your bad cholesterol and the risk of heart disease.

Good Examples of Healthy fats

• Olive and canola oils

• Nuts, like peanuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts

• Soy products

• Fish like trout, salmon, sardines, and herring

• Avocados

• Ground flax seed and flax seed oil

• Omega 3 enriched eggs

Watch for Hidden Fats and Avoid

Make sure you always read packaging and avoiding these hidden facts:

• Saturated fat

• Butter or milk fat

• Meat fats

• Coconut oil

• Palm oil

• Hydrogenated fat

• Hydrogenated vegetable oil

• Shortening

• Tallow

• Monoglycerides and diglycerides

• Trans fat

Make sure your diet is filled good fats, not bad fats.